Knitting Needles Machines
Heart of Knitting
VASANT R KOTHARI - has done Master’s
in Textiles Technology from DKTE’s Textile
and Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji
(Shivaji University, Kolhapur), Maharashtra.
He has also done Diploma in Export
Management (Apparel Export) from the
Indian Institute of Export Management, and
Garment Export and Merchandising
Management from NIFT, Bangalore.
Presently, he’s working as an Assistant
Professor in Department of Fashion
Technology, NIFT, Bangalore. (This is his
third input from the series of articles in
knitting Views)
38/KNITTING VIEWS/MAY-JUNE 2010
T he fundamental elements in construction of
knitted fabrics are the knitting needles as
they are the main elements for intermeshing of
loops. The quality of the knitted fabric is largely
dependent on the effectiveness and accuracy
of the loop, which in turn largely depends on
the needle.
Small variations in the needle manufacture can lead
to irregular fabric. The surface of needles should be
highly polished allowing the yarn and the loop to
slide free. The needle must have high strength and
toughness to give durability. A typical needle must
perform several million knitting actions without fault.
Types of knitting needles: There are three types of
needles. These are:-
1. Bearded needle 2. Latch needle
3. Compound needle

The Latch needle is primarily used in weft
knitting, and the other two are used for
warp knitting. A coarse (large and thick)
needle usually knits with a coarse yarn
(large hook), whereas a fine (small and
thin) needle usually knits with fine yarn
(small hook).
4. Groove or eye – a small groove is worked
into the stem of the needle to allow the
beard to fit flush with the stem and
ensure the old course is pushed over
the beard
Head
5. Shank – bent for individual location in
the machine or cast with others in a
metal ‘lead’. The shank is used to attach
the needle to the frame
Bearded needle characteristics
1. The knitting section occupies a
considerable amount of space, thus
limiting productivity
2. The needles can set vertically or
horizontally
3. The needle has the disadvantage of
requiring a pressing edge to close the
bearded hook
4. The presser may be in the form of a bar,
blade, verge or wheel
5. Finer in Cross Section, therefore, more
needles in unit space. Hence Finer
Gauge (60 needles/per inch) can be
achieved
6. High wear and tear and can break easily
7. Strain on the yarn is less
8. No possibility of fluff or lint
accumulation on the needle
9. Most of the warp knitting machines use
beard needles
Hook

Bearded needle
The bearded needle was used by William
Lee in his stocking frame to enable a
Latch-Blade
single needle to undertake the tasks Beard
achieved by hand knitters with two
needles. This needle is the simplest and Latch Spoor
cheapest to produce, but it does require
an additional element to close the beard Stem
during knitting. In the case of warp
knitting it is a presser bar. The majority Fig 3.1
Bearded
of modern high speed warp knitting needle in the Eye
machines now use compound needles open and
closed
rather than bearded needle. positions
The needle consists of five main parts. Fig 3.2
Latch needle
1. Shaft or stem – used with the jack
sinkers to form new loops
2. Head – the point at which the stem is Stem
bent to form the beard, it helps to draw
the new loop through the old loop
Butt
3. Beard – the needle continues from the
head to be turned back on itself to form Shank
the beard. The beard is used to trap
new loops while old loops are pushed
Tail
over the top

KNITTING VIEWS/MAY-JUNE 2010/ 39


Fig 3.3 Hook
Fig 3.4
Latch spoon
Fig 3.5
Latch
movement
Latch needle
Matthew Townsend, a Leicester hosier,
patented the latch needle in 1849, and
compared to the bearded needle, which
evolved some 260 years earlier, it has the
advantage of being self acting, though it
is slightly more expensive to produce.
The needle consists of seven main parts:
1. Stem – Used to hold the course of old
loops
2. Hook – The hook is used to catch a
thread and form loops
3. Rivet – The rivet, which may be plain or
threaded, holds the latch in place and
allows it to pivot
4. Latch – The latch combines the task
performed by the presser bar and the
beard of the bearded needle
5. Latch spoon – The latch spoon is an
extension of the blade, and bridges the
gap between the hook and the stem
covering the hook when closed
6. Butt – The butt enables the movement
of the needle to be controlled by a cam
mechanism. A track raises and lowers
the needle
7. Tail – Used to provide support to the
needle
40/KNITTING VIEWS/MAY-JUNE 2010
Latch needle characteristics:
1. Most widely used in weft knitting
2. More expensive than the bearded
needle, because of the assembly of the
needle and latch
3. It is self-acting or loop-controlled, and
is sometimes termed the ‘automatic’
needle
4. It can work at any angle
5. Needle Depth determines the loop
length
6. Variation of the height of reciprocating
action produces knit, tuck or miss
stitch
7. It is ideally suited for use with
computer-controlled electronic
selection devices
8. It makes a longer stroke in the cycle of
knitting
9. The Latch needle takes a longer time
to knit a loop and hence the knitting
machine is generally found slower
10. Latch needles are thick and rigid
11. Needle deflection is difficult
12. It imposes a certain strain on the yarn
13. There is also a possibility of fluff or lint
accumulation on the latch due to
rubbing action of the yarn on the needle
Fig. 3.6 Compound
needle (Pusher type)
Fig. 3.7
Compound
needle
(Tubular
pipe)
Compound needle
Compound needles were designed in the
mid of 19th Century. It consists of two
separately controlled parts; these are-the
open hook and the sliding closing element
(tongue, latch, piston, and plunger). The
two parts rise and fall as a single unit but
at the top of the rise, the hook moves faster
to open the hooks and at the start of the
fall the hook descends faster to close the
hook. It is easier to drive the hooks and
tongues collectively to form two separate
bars as in warp knitting; than to move each
hook and tongue individually as in weft
knitting.
Two types of compound needle have been
employed in warp knitting machines:
1. The open stem “Pusher type” or slide
needle has a closing wire or tongue that
slides externally along a groove on the
edge of the flat hook member
2. The tubular pipe needle has its tongue
sliding inside the tube of the open hook
Compound needle characteristics:
1. The compound needle is expensive
2. It offers a much shorter, smoother and
simpler knitting action in comparison to
other needles
3. Both members of Compound Needle
have a straight moment, thus the
knitting speed can be increased
4. There is no strain on the yarn
Common points
The three needles considered above, while
differing in design, have the following
points in common.
1. Hook – to take & hold newly fed yarn
2. Closing mechanism – to allow the held
loop to leave the needle
3. Stem
4. Control Butt – for individual or
collective movement
Loop formation process
During yarn feeding, the hook is opened
to release the retained old loop and to
receive the new loop which is then
enclosed in the hook (As shown in Fig.
3.8). The new loop is then drawn by the
hook through the old loop which slides
on the outside of the bridge of the enclosed
hook (As shown in Fig. 3.9). All needles
must therefore have some method of
closing the knitting needle hook to retain
the new loop and exclude the old loop (As
shown in Fig. 3.10).
Fig 3.10
Needle orientation
Needles in the knitting machine are usually
oriented either vertically, horizontally, or at
45º. Needles are held in the position by
needle beds - pieces of metal into which
slots or grooves have been cut. The beds
can be rectangular or circular.
Comparison of needles
Bearded needle
Required another element to close the hook
Less expensive
Beard needles are thin and flexible
Usually mounted on finer gauge
It wears and breaks easily
No strain on yarn
It makes a shorter stroke in the knitting cycle
Stitches are tight and minimum loop robbing
No fly and fluff generation
Time required to knit the loop is less
The speed of the machine is high
Fig 3.11 Needles at 90º on cylinder (Vertical)
and dial (Horizontal)
Latch needle
Self acting needle
More expensive
Latch needles are thick and rigid
Usually mounted on coarser gauge
Strong in nature
Imposes certain strain on yarn
It makes a longer stroke in the knitting cycle
Stitches are loose
Due to rubbing, fly and fluff generation is high
Takes longer time to knit the loop
The speed of the machine is less

Latch needle Compound needle

Self acting needle Consist of two separately-controlled parts
Fig 3.8 Less expensive Very expensive
Preferred for Weft Knitting Preferred for Warp Knitting
Vibration is more Short, smooth, simple harmonic movement,
so there is less vibration
Yarns are under stress No stress on yarn
The vertical clearing height is very good The vertical clearing height is not so good
Latch needles produces the long & The needle can knit tight, uniform stitches that
narrow loops tend to be rounder
Latch needles are relatively thick Because of its slim construction and short hook
Fig 3.9 fine warp knitted are possible
Speed is relatively less Can work at high speed

Fig 3.12 Needles at rectangular or flat bed Fig 3.13 Needles at 45º on V Bed Knitting Machine

In the next session, we would be discussing about the elements of knitting.

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